AC FUNDAMENTALS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify and determine the peak value, frequency, period and phase of a sinusoidal
waveform
SINUSOIDAL AC VOLTAGE
CHARACTERISTICS AND
DEFINITIONS
GENERATION
• Sinusoidal ac voltages are available from a variety of
sources.
• Most common source is the typical home outlet, which
provides an ac voltage that originates at a power plant;
• POWER PLANT is most commonly fueled by water
power, oil, gas, or nuclear fusion
VARIOUS SOURCES OF AC
GENERATION
• AC GENERATOR (also
called an alternator) is
the primary component in
the energy-conversion
process.
Figure 1. AC generators consist of field windings, an armature (coil), slip rings, and
brushes (electricala2z.com)
GENERATION

• The power to the shaft developed by one of the energy sources

listed will turn a rotor (constructed of alternating magnetic
poles) inside a set of windings housed in the stator (the
stationary part of the dynamo) and will induce a voltage across
the windings of the stator as defined by Faraday’s law,

Where: e = emf ; N = number of turns; = flux ; t = time(s)

DEFINITIONS
SINUSOIDAL WAVEFORM
WAVEFORM

• The path traced by a quantity,

such as the voltage in plotted
as a function of some
variable such as time (as
above), position, degrees,
radians, temperature, and so
on.
INSTANTANEOUS VALUE

• The magnitude of a
waveform at any instant of
time; denoted by lowercase
letters (e1, e2).

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PEAK AMPLITUDE

• The maximum value of a waveform as measured from

its average, or mean, value, denoted by uppercase
letters (such as Em for sources of voltage and Vm for
the voltage drop across a load). For the waveform, the
average value is zero volts, and Em is as defined by the
figure.
PEAK VALUE

• The maximum instantaneous value of a

function as measured from the zero-volt level.
For the waveform, the peak amplitude and peak
value are the same, since the average value of the
function is zero volts.
PEAK-TO-PEAK VALUE

• Denoted by Ep-p or Vp-p, the

full voltage between positive
and negative peaks of the
waveform, that is, the sum of
the magnitude of the positive
and negative peaks.
PERIODIC WAVEFORM

• A waveform that continually repeats itself

after the same time interval
PERIOD

• It is referred to as the time interval between

successive repetitions of a periodic
waveform
• It is denoted as T.
CYCLE

• The portion of a waveform contained in one period of

time
•One complete set of positive and negative values of an
alternating quantity is called a cycle.
•One complete cycle is then said to extend over 360° or
2π radians of angular measure.
PERIOD AND CYCLE
FREQUENCY

• The number of cycles

that occur in 1 s.
• Frequency is the
number of cycles per
second or Hz.
• 1 Hz = 1 cycle/s
PERIOD AND FREQUENCY

• Frequency is inversely related to the period

Where: f = frequency(Hz); T = period(s)

SAMPLE PROBLEM

Find the period of a periodic waveform with a frequency of

a. 60 Hz
b. 2500 Hz
Determine the frea.quency of the waveform given the period of
a. 25 ms
b. 3
SINE WAVE
• The sinusoidal waveform is the only alternating waveform whose shape is
unaffected by the response characteristics of R, L, and C elements.
 SINE WAVE

• The unit of measurement for the

horizontal axis of is the degree. A second
unit of measurement frequently used is
the radian (rad).
• It is defined by a quadrant of a circle
such where the distance subtended on the
circumference equals the radius of the
circle.
ANGULAR VELOCITY

• The velocity with which the radius vector rotates about the
center, called the angular velocity, can be determined from the
following equation:

= =
SAMPLE PROBLEM

• Determine the angular velocity of a sine wave having a

frequency of 60 Hz.
• Given =200 rad/s, determine how long it will take the sinusoidal
waveform to pass through an angle of 90°.
• Find the angle through which a sinusoidal waveform of 25 Hz
will pass in a period of 8 ms.
GENERAL FORMAT FOR THE SINUSOIDAL
VOLTAGE OR CURRENT
• The basic mathematical format
for the sinusoidal waveform is

• where Am is the peak value of

the waveform and is the unit of
measure for the horizontal axis,
GENERAL FORMAT FOR THE SINUSOIDAL
VOLTAGE OR CURRENT
The general format of a sine wave can also be written

with as the horizontal unit of measure

For electrical quantities such as current and voltage, the general format is
i= =
e= =
SAMPLE PROBLEM

• Given e = 25, determine e at a 70° and a

0.73π.
GENERAL FORMAT FOR THE SINUSOIDAL
VOLTAGE OR CURRENT
• The angle at which a particular voltage level is attained can be determined
by rearranging the equation

e=
=
= =
SAMPLE PROBLEM

• Determine the angle at which the magnitude of the

sinusoidal function v = 120 sin 377t is 65 V.
• Determine the time at which the magnitude is attained.
• Given i = sin 1000t, determine i at t = 2 ms.
PHASE RELATIONS

If the waveform is shifted to the right or left of 0°, the

expression becomes

Where: is the angles in degrees or radians that the

waveform has been shifted.
PHASE RELATIONS

• If the waveform passes through

the horizontal axis with a positive
going (increasing with time) slope
before 0°, the expression is
PHASE RELATIONS

• If the waveform passes through

the horizontal axis with a
positive-going slope after 0°, the
expression is
PHASE RELATIONS

• If the waveform crosses the horizontal

axis with a positive-going slope 90° (/2)
sooner, it is called a cosine wave; that is,

=
Or
PHASE RELATION

• The terms lead and lag are used to indicate the relationship between two
sinusoidal waveforms of the same frequency plotted on the same set of
axes.
• Cosine curve is said to lead the sine curve by 90°
• Sine curve is said to lag the cosine curve by 90°.
• The 90° is referred to as the phase angle between the two waveforms.
• The phase relationship between two waveforms indicates which one leads
or lags, and by how many degrees or radians.
GEOMETRIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIOUS
FORMS OF THE SINE AND COSINE FUNCTION

• =